Upset in Jersey triggers gas panic

Drivers travel north for fuel; gas is available

FLORIDA - Lines and fuel shortages at New Jersey gas stations sent frantic drivers to Orange County and even Ulster County pumps in droves Thursday. The out-of-state influx, coupled with New Yorkers panicked about a shrinking fuel supply, caused shortages in some parts of Orange County.

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By Jessica DiNapoli

recordonline.com

By Jessica DiNapoli

Posted Nov. 2, 2012 at 2:00 AM

By Jessica DiNapoli
Posted Nov. 2, 2012 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

FLORIDA — Lines and fuel shortages at New Jersey gas stations sent frantic drivers to Orange County and even Ulster County pumps in droves Thursday.

The out-of-state influx, coupled with New Yorkers panicked about a shrinking fuel supply, caused shortages in some parts of Orange County.

A half-mile long line of cars and pickup trucks, guided by state troopers and local police, snaked from Route 17A in Florida around the back of the Quick Chek to the station's pumps early Thursday afternoon. Reports of drivers jumping the line brought out the police, said Trooper Seth Caridi.

That Quick Chek had only premium gas by 4 p.m. Thursday. Shafi Zafar of the Shell station on Dolson Avenue at the Middletown-Wawayanda border, expected his pumps to run dry by 6 p.m. His last gas delivery was before Hurricane Sandy arrived, and he wasn't sure when his next would be.

"I've never seen it like this," Zafar said. "Everyone is scared."

Kyle Bergner of Vernon, N.J., traveled to the Village of Florida to fuel up his car and generator. Gas stations in his home state either have no gas, no power or endless lines, he said.

"It's taken a good hour and a half of driving around to find a place," he said. Florida police Officer John Harter, who was directing traffic at the Valero station, also on 17A, said the crowds started building Wednesday. The two gas stations in nearby Warwick also had lines, he added.

"All of Jersey's coming over here," Harter said.

Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst at GasBuddy.com, said there isn't actually a fuel shortage. When there's no power, the pumps don't work.

"Most gas stations have gas but have no power," he said. "That's why people will perceive there's a shortage."

Power outages and flooding caused by Hurricane Sandy also disrupted the flow of fuel from refineries to stations that are open.

DeHaan said that Phillips 66 in New Jersey, one of the largest refineries on the East Coast, has had power restored but hasn't started operating yet.

The Hess terminal in the Town of Newburgh is running, but terminals in New York Harbor and New Jersey are not, according to a company representative.

The U.S. Coast Guard and the Environmental Protection Agency have been working to relieve shortages and lines.

The Coast Guard opened the Port of New York and New Jersey on Thursday on a restricted basis to get gasoline and fuel to the hardest-hit areas. The EPA lifted low-smog requirements, allowing deliveries of gas from other regions.

Hysteria over a possible gas shortage seemed to ripple up Route 17 from southern Orange County to Middletown and beyond by late Thursday afternoon. Crowds at the Quick Chek on Route 17M exploded over the course of the afternoon. The nearby Valero, quiet earlier in the day, was swamped by rush hour.

Some drivers came up to Orange County for more than just gas.

John DiColo of Budd Lake in Morris County, N.J. — a good hour from Vernon, which is close to the New York border — traveled to Sussex County to pick up a generator his friend bought for him in Scranton, Pa. At his friend's recommendation, DiColo then drove to the Shell on Dolson Avenue in Middletown to fill up before heading back. Generators are nowhere to be found in the Garden State, he said.

"It's just terrible," he said. "And it's getting cold."

Joe Zapata of Howard Beach, Queens, came up to stay with family in Orange County Wednesday simply to "get out of Dodge."

He also stocked up on vital supplies: gas, rubber boots and batteries, rarities in New York City. Thursday, after filling up at the Shell station, Zapata was headed back to Queens to pump water out of his house.

DeHaan recommended that drivers fuel up at big truck stops, which can use generators and ship in fuel from out of state.

"Call ahead if possible," he suggested.

Times Herald-Record reporter Steve Israel and The Associated Press contributed to this story.